1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a vertical power unit comprising: an engine which has a vertically arranged crankshaft; a vertically arranged output shaft provided below the crankshaft; and a torque converter which is disposed between the crankshaft and the output shaft, and transmits power from the crankshaft to the output shaft. The present invention also relates to an improvement of an outboard engine system comprising: a casing coupled to a swivel case via a swivel shaft; an engine mounted in an upper part of the casing such that a crankshaft of the engine is vertically arranged and a cylinder block of the engine faces in a direction opposite to the swivel shaft; a torque converter; a vertically arranged output shaft connected to the crankshaft through the torque converter; a horizontally arranged propeller shaft provided below the output shaft; and a forward-reverse shifting gear mechanism for providing a connection between the output shaft and the propeller shaft; the torque converter, the output shaft, the propeller shaft and the forward-reverse shifting gear mechanism being disposed in the casing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such an outboard engine systems is already known as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,600.
In the vertical power unit or outboard engine system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,600, although a crankshaft of an engine is arranged so as to be largely apart from the central portion of the engine toward one side, an output shaft and a torque converter having relatively large weight are arranged immediately below and coaxially with the crankshaft, and thus the center of gravity of the vertical power unit or outboard engine system is biased further toward the crankshaft, whereby it is difficult to handle the torque converter or the output shaft.